This photo of the old factory depicts the humble origins of these essential balms. Photos provided to Shanghai Star

These tiny tins of multipurpose balm have cooled skins for half a century. Wang Ying rubs shoulders with the brand's general manager.

In the days of the centrally planned economy, Chinese people had to cope with scarcity, and many products were multi-taskers. Qingliangyou, a coin-sized round tin of ointment, was one of the best all-rounders.

The red-colored tin with its dragon and tiger logo has accompanied generations of Chinese people, soothing headaches, carsickness, fatigue, as well as relieving stings or muscle soreness.

The memory of the little yellow balm is closely associated with its sharp odor, and people nowadays have divided opinions on it, with its adamant fans always bringing one wherever they go, while others say only old people like this smelly product.

Oriental magic balm

The story of the essential balm's logo of a dragon on the left and a tiger on the right can be traced back to 1911, when businessman Huang Chujiu founded the Dragon and Tiger Company in Shanghai.